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dyannereed
January 6, 2021
Question

Reconciling credit card accounts

  • January 6, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 0 views

I have never reconciled my cc account.  Can I start now and "ignore" the past entries? AND  Does this affect the P&L and or Balance Sheet? 

2 replies

JoesemM
JoesemM
January 6, 2021

Welcome to the Community space, @dyannereed.

 

Yes, you can now start reconciling and ignore those past entries. Since it's your first time reconciling an account, you can pick a day to start tracking transactions and enter the balance of your real-life bank account for whatever day you choose.

 

  1. Select Reconcile in the Banking section.
  2. Click the Account drop-down menu, and then select the credit card account under Credit Cards.
  3. The Statement Date is automatically filled in. Usually, it's 30 or 31 days after the statement date of the previous reconciliation. Change it as needed to match your bank statement.
  4. QuickBooks also automatically enters the Beginning Balance.
  5. In the Ending Balance field, enter the ending balance as it appears on your bank statement.
  6. If your bank statement shows a service charge or interest that you didn't enter into QuickBooks, don't worry. Enter the amounts in the Service Charge and Interest Earned section. Don't enter charges you've already entered in QuickBooks.
  7. Review the fields and select Continue to start reconciling.

 

See this article for detailed steps: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Desktop.

 

Also, it doesn't affect your Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet since you haven't reconciled your account. However, I'd still suggest consulting your accountant. They can guide you on how to handle your reconciliation to ensure your book is accurate.

 

 

In case you encounter some issues upon reconciling. This great resource will surely help you with fixing it. For the details, please check out this article: How to fix reconciliation issues in QBDT?.

 

Once done with your reconciliation, I'd suggest customizing your reports. This is for you to get the details you'll want to pull up. This is made possible through this article: How to customize reports in QBDT?.

 

Hit the Reply button if you have more questions about account reconciliation or any concerns in QBDT. I'd be glad to assist you further. Take care.

 

For more information on taxes, forms, filings, payroll and other Year End activities, make sure to check out our Year End Resources page.

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Paddy7
January 29, 2021

I'm new to this forum and have tried a few times now to ask my question.  As I don't see it listed and I keep getting asked to sign in and change passwords, I'm hitting reply here as my question is along the same line. I hope this works!  I've made entries under Banking/cc entries.  The entries are shown in the P/L statement. I'm wondering why they are not reflected on the BS/chequing balance.  I thought the answer might have something to do with reconciling but in reading above I see that reconciling doesn't affect the P/L and BS.  That is my first issue and 2nd I'm wondering what the reconciling process does and do I need to do?    Thanks!

Rose-A
Rose-A
January 29, 2021

I'd be glad to share some information about the importance of reconciling your accounts in QuickBooks Desktop, Paddy7.

 

Reconciliation is used to ensure that the money leaving an account matches the actual money spent. This is the only way you can be sure that all of the transactions that occurred got recorded in QuickBooks. Doing so will help you ensure the accuracy of your financial records.

 

To know more about this process, you can read through this article: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Desktop. It provides in-depth details on how it works in QuickBooks as well as links to help you resolve reconciliation issues. 

 

On the other hand, to ensure the cc entries are showing on your balance sheet report, make sure that the date range entered includes the date of the transaction.

 

 

I recommend customizing the report to get the specific details you need. You can also memorize it to save its current customization settings. It serves as your record and helps you quickly access it for future use.

 

I'll zip right back to you if you need additional assistance with reconciling your account or anything about QuickBooks reports. I'm always here to help. Have a good one.

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daynarp
June 9, 2023

I have the same question but I know how to start reconciling from today forward.  My question is how do I clear out the past years of transactions out of the reconciliation screen without messing up my present balance?

 

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Archie_B
June 9, 2023

Hi there, daynarp.

 

I have some information that will assist us in clearing those previous entries in QuickBooks Desktop when reconciling.

 

You can perform a special reconciliation, also known as a "mini reconciliation," to clear transactions from previous years. This fixes previously unreconciled transactions without affecting the "cycle" that they follow. Here's how to do it on a bank account:

 

  1. Go to the Banking menu and hit Reconcile.
  2. Select the bank account with the transactions you need to reconcile.
  3. In the Date of Statement field, enter the date for an "off-cycle reconciliation." This date can be any date between your last reconciliation and the next scheduled one.
  4. In the Ending Balance field, put the balance of your last successful reconciliation. Then click Continue.
  5. In the Reconcile window, check off the transactions you are fixing and re-reconciling.
  6. Make sure the Difference field shows $0.00.
  7. Once everything looks good, click on Reconcile Now.

 

If you have a credit card account, you can check out this article for the detailed steps: Reconcile previously deleted and re-entered checking or credit card transactions.

 

I also recommend consulting an accountant before performing the process of reconciling past transactions to ensure your records are in good shape. They can offer advice on how to handle those entries correctly in order to avoid data problems.
 

I've also added this link as a reference when reconciling an account in QuickBooks Desktop.

 

Return to this thread if you have other concerns or follow-up questions about it. I'll be here to help.

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